


and all the sadness inside me melted away (like I was free)

by Bara_no_Uta



Series: Finding Meaning in [E]ternity [2]
Category: NieR: Automata (Video Game)
Genre: Everyone Needs A Hug, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Game(s), Slow Burn, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:35:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26100505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bara_no_Uta/pseuds/Bara_no_Uta
Summary: When 9S and A2 piece together that Devola may have outlived Popola if she survived the tower's collapse, they know they must intervene. That said, repairing obsolete, 10,000 year old models may be easier said than done.-Continues directly from Part 1 of the "Finding Meaning in [E]ternity" series, but ought to make sense without it.
Relationships: 2B/A2 (NieR: Automata), 9S & A2 (NieR: Automata), Devola & Popola (NieR: Automata)
Series: Finding Meaning in [E]ternity [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1892593
Kudos: 28





	and all the sadness inside me melted away (like I was free)

**Author's Note:**

> A huge thanks to my friend who not only got me into Nier: Automata, but also helped me brainstorm ideas on how to allow everyone to survive (or be brought back, as the case may be) for this AU.
> 
> By the way, I just finished reading the novelization of the YoRHa stage play late last night. The feels, wow. I'm also happy to know more about A2 and how she thinks now!
> 
> Incidentally, the reason this is being written as a series of connected oneshots instead of a multi-chapter fic is just my own personal preference. The slow burn romance tag refers to the series as a whole.

Once 2B and 9S had selected an abandoned building that they liked which could serve as their ‘home,’ the amount of unanswered questions about how to move forward started to feel daunting for the two of them. Meanwhile, A2 seemed to have bounced back to her ‘old self,’ as they knew her, which meant she wasn’t exactly making small talk.

There was one thing that had been on 9S’s mind as he reflected on everything that led them to this point. “A2, did you see what happened to Popola and Devola?” They had saved him more than once, and yet he had been so despairing and lost over the death of 2B that he hadn’t thanked them properly. That was particularly troublesome when he thought about the last he had seen of them.

It took her a moment to place the names, but then she recalled meeting them the one time she had been to one of the Resistance camps. The next time she had seen them had been with Devola slumped over Popola’s limp body. She felt so empty most of the time that it didn’t particularly sadden her, and in order to not make their sacrifice meaningless, she had gone ahead into the tower. The tower had probably collapsed on them, but… it was too late for Popola, and without her twin, perhaps that was the more merciful option for Devola anyway.

She wondered if 9S would hate her all over again for leaving them or for destroying the tower. If he did, he was a hypocrite though, wasn’t he? After all, he had left them every bit as she had.

“I… don’t think either of them made it.” Android bodies were sturdy, but to survive the collapse of an entire tower? “There’s a small chance that Devola made it out, but… with Popola gone, it’s probably better for her if she didn’t.”

No one objected to that assertion. All of them had felt at one time or another that if they were to lose those most important to them, they would have preferred to die too.

9S seemed dejected at first, but after a few seconds, his resolve seemed to strengthen. “Then that just means that if Devola survived, she needs our support more than ever, doesn’t it?”

He raised a good point. “Let’s go to the tower and see if we can confirm their status.”

The group took off. If the two of them were dead at the base of the tower, they would have their answer. If one or both of them was not present, she wasn’t sure where to even begin to look for them, but she knew to focus on things one step at a time. Maybe one of those fancy pods could track them somehow.

The tower was in such ruins that there was no way to know where the entrance had been before. It would be difficult to clear through the rubble enough to rule their presence in or out, but it wasn’t exactly like they were short on time.

“Let’s split up and search different parts of the area,” A2 suggested, though she couldn’t help but to feel a biting irony in the fact that she was suddenly taking a leadership role in their little group. If only she had been more capable of doing that in the past—

“Negative: That will not be necessary,” Pod 153 said, floating into her line of sight. “One android presence has been confirmed. The android appears to be in sleep mode.”

One of them was still alive. It was a miracle, but most likely a miracle the surviving twin wouldn’t even want. “Can you lead us to her?” They could figure out how to move forward after assessing her condition.

“Understood: Marking location on your maps.”

The three of them went right to the location and started uncovering them. Their bodies were damaged, but not lethally.

“I think Devola can still be repaired,” 9S said. He felt like crying as he looked at Popola. “Popola was affected by the tower’s EMP. Her circuits are fried.”

Hm… “Give me a minute.” She hacked into Popola’s data to see if it was recoverable. “Her data is still all intact. Unfortunately, she’s such an old model that I’m not sure it can be transferred safely into a YoRHa unit, even if we use one of those creepy body machines they put everywhere.”

Creepy body machines…? He almost laughed despite the situation when he realized she was referring to the transfer bodies present at access points, and he wondered if she had intentionally phrased it oddly just to make him feel better. Maybe A2 was more compassionate than she seemed. The realization of A2’s point hit him next though, and that dampened the mood right back. “If we still had the Bunker, it might be possible to repair her circuits, but… we don’t have the tools for the job, or anyone who even knows how to do it.”

And yet, it was probably only a matter of time before Devola woke up. A striking conviction broke through her numbness: She would _not_ let anyone lose their loved one if she could help it. This wasn’t like 9S losing 2B, where there was no way for her to save 2B. Popola’s data hadn’t been corrupted at all. “If we can just find a way to power her…”

After doing her own maintenance for years, A2 had learned a few things. In addition to that, Popola and Devola ought to have the necessary supplies at the Resistance Camp. The problem was, because all of her repairs were on herself, she knew virtually nothing about the inner workings of an older model of android. How did they run, if not for a Black Box?

Even if she found the answer to that question by asking someone at the Resistance Camp, she wouldn’t have the first idea of how to do maintenance on whatever powered Popola.

It might not even be possible, she realized. If it were simply a matter of doing some repairs, Devola wouldn’t have looked so devastated and hopeless. Damn it, there had to be something they could do. Her hands tightened into fists. “What does an android without a Black Box even run on?!”

While 2B and 9S were slightly taken aback by her sudden anger, they both had the sense to realize that it wasn’t directed at them. 2B looked down, acutely aware of their desire to save Popola but not having any idea as to how they could do so.

9S seemed to be in thought for a while. Finally, he spoke up. “If she had a Black Box… would you know how to save her?”

What a pointless question. She didn’t have a Black Box, so unless 9S knew how to – and had the parts to – build a _fusion reactor_ , all it did was rub in her powerlessness. She was so _sick_ of being powerless while everyone died— _Calm down._

A2 took some time to steady herself before answering. “I can’t promise that. But I would have some ideas I could try. Does it matter though? It’s not like we have the materials to make a fusion reactor, and the data from one of the Black Boxes in the terminal might not even be compatible with a Popola model.”

He took a deep breath. It could be that the two of them would be happier not knowing what he had learned about the creation of Black Boxes. Maybe he shouldn’t even tell them. But if it could save Popola… “I think I know how to create one.”

With the pods’ help, they transported the twins to the Resistance Camp. Seeing them arrive, Anemone approached.

“It’s good to see you again,” she said to A2.

A2 tried to offer her a smile. It seemed the least she could do after getting so much of the rest of the Resistance killed back then. “Likewise.”

Luckily, if there was anyone who could understand the pain of surviving everyone you had ever cared for, it was Anemone. It was a unique burden that she and A2 were alone in carrying. As such, she knew better than to take A2’s emotional distance personally. “What the hell happened to them?”

“A tower collapsed on them.” She looked away, hesitating, then looked back at Anemone. She opened her mouth, but hesitated again. “I’m going to try to save them,” she finally said. “But I don’t know much about the internal mechanisms of androids other than YoRHa units. I’ve only ever performed maintenance on myself, after all.”

Anemone had always felt an instinctive discomfort around the twins and had mostly avoided them, but even so, she would prefer to save them if at all possible. She had seen too many androids die; she didn’t want to see it happen to anyone else. Answering the question that hadn’t actually been asked, she nodded. “Yeah, I’ll help you.”

9S and 2B exchanged a look. The dynamic between the two felt odd and heavy, yet also deeply familiar, and neither of the younger units could even begin to guess at why.

They brought Popola and Devola to two stretchers.

“I’d like to start with Popola,” A2 said, turning to Anemone. “I’m pretty sure I can repair Devola, but Popola’s circuits were fried. And if we can’t repair her… I expect that after Devola wakes up, she’ll ask that we let her join Popola.”

Anemone nodded, having no question as to the accuracy of that statement. “So if her circuits are fried, what are we going to do?”

“If you don’t know how to get them working again, we had an idea. 9S says he knows how to make one of the Black Boxes: fusion reactors that power YoRHa units. It’s a long shot, but I think it’s the best chance we have. If it’s made and programmed specifically to work for her, her body might be able to interface with it like ours can.”

“I can’t do the hacking stuff, but I do know a few things about repairs. Where do we start?”

“Let’s assemble the Black Box first.” The truth was that she chose this because she was somewhat skeptical that 9S really knew how to create a working Black Box.

He didn’t have the physical instructions anymore, but one of the nice things about being a Scanner was a photographic memory. Once he had seen or read something, it was in his head forever. “You may… not like hearing this,” he admitted, looking at 2B and A2. “The main ‘ingredient’ in a Black Box, I mean.”

A2 doubted there was anything he could say that would surprise her after how extensively Command had already betrayed her. What was worse than finding out that you were created for the sole purpose of dying, rendering your entire existence all but meaningless? She did have some concern toward 2B, though, who was likely still grappling with the lie about the Council of Humanity.

“Black Boxes are actually made of reprogrammed machine cores.”

A2 didn’t react at all. It was fucked up, but in her eyes, fucked up was basically the norm for YoRHa. Finding out that what was inside her was the same as what was inside a machine… Actually, when she thought about it, her stomach turned at the thought. Her hatred of machines was such that she wanted no part of them, much less like _this_.

But functionally speaking, she had lived her whole life with this machine core in her chest. Learning the truth of it didn’t actually change anything. She decided to focus away from herself, and looked at 2B.

2B wore a look of horror, clearly disturbed by the idea. “ _Why?_ ”

He wondered if telling her the reason would make her feel better or worse. Ultimately, he decided he would rather be honest with her. “Because… they always planned for Project YoRHa to be destroyed. They thought it would be wrong to put standard AI in units destined to die.”

Her knees caved slightly, and she held onto the stretcher so tightly that the artificial skin on her knuckles turned white under her gloves.

A2 wished she had any idea how to program a Black Box. 9S was probably much better suited to support 2B right now. But even though she could hack, her abilities probably couldn’t compare to an actual Scanner model. She stepped closer to 2B. “I think 2B and I are going to take a minute while you reprogram it.”

It pained him, but he seemed to understand why she had assigned their roles in that way, so he nodded.

Having established that, A2 reached around 2B to touch her arm, having the added benefit of it being easier to catch her if she started to lose her balance. “Why don’t we go sit down? Or we can take a walk, get some space.”

“I’d like to sit down,” she said, attempting to sound calm and collected. It didn’t fool anybody.

“Okay.” She guided 2B far enough that they could talk without being overheard by the entire rest of the camp.

Once they were safely seated on the grass, A2 withdrew her arm. 2B wished she hadn’t, but she wasn’t about to voice that.

“They created us to die, and there aren’t even any humans to defend. Why?” She looked into A2’s eyes, her expression almost pleading for A2 to have a real answer to the question. Something that would make her existence not feel like meaningless suffering.

She wished she had an answer. All too familiar with the pain of this realization for 2B, she really, really did. “I don’t know,” she admitted.

“Aliens made the machines to kill humans. Humans made androids to kill machines. The aliens are dead. The humans are dead. Why are we still fighting?”

The despair in 2B’s voice made something in her own chest clench. Would she be a hypocrite to try to encourage her to feel hopeful? Probably. Even so, she didn’t want 2B to hurt like this… “We don’t have to fight anymore. There are no machines around us. We can do anything we want.”

“Why were we created just to suffer and die?” Her voice wobbled slightly. Everything she learned just made all her suffering feel more and more pointless. “And if it’s a machine core inside us, can we even be considered androids? Or are we just… monsters?” She had liked the machines from Pascal’s village, including Pascal, but too many machines were nothing but mindless killers.

She exhaled deeply. “Well, whatever we are, all of us are it together. And I don’t think you’re a monster.” What a load of crap it felt like for her to say that when she was just as repulsed – if not more so – than 2B. “Functionally, whether we have a machine core or AI, we’re still ourselves. It doesn’t change who we are.”

After thinking this assertion over, 2B nodded. She couldn’t help but to notice how well A2 seemed to be taking it in comparison to her, and shame started to swirl in her chest. “Did you know?”

A2 shook her head. “Not about what he just said, no. But my squadron were all created to go on one mission and be killed, so as far as Project YoRHa planning to kill us, that’s been irrelevant for me since just about the beginning. We never mattered to Command whatsoever.”

That surprised her a bit. Suddenly, she thought back to A2’s disappointment when she woke up, and the expression _survivor’s guilt_ popped into her head. Maybe it would be inconsiderate to ask further questions. With that in mind, and since A2 always worked alone… it was no wonder A2 was so emotionally distant.

2B placed a hand on A2’s arm, just as A2 had done for her when she was in tears earlier. A2’s expression was impassive, but she was sure it must hurt to talk about. “We matter to each other.”

Sure. But look where that had gotten her in the descent mission. Even so, 2B’s touch felt unexpectedly warm. It was one of the first times since that day where she had actually _felt_ anything but pain. It made her happy that 2B could still say something so honest and naïve, though. 2B deserved to be happy. Not wanting to make her sad, A2 nodded. “We’ll look out for each other.” What she really meant was _I’ll look out for you._ “Command might have put us through hell without a second thought, but we’re outside of that now.”

2B wished she could be as strong as A2. …She should try, then. “We’ll make our own way forward.”

She was glad that 2B didn’t recognize that unlike the two of them, really, not much had changed for her. A few of those who she had planned to wipe out were now gone, but there were still machines in other areas. She didn’t think 2B and 9S wanted to fight anymore, though, so she wouldn’t involve them in her hopeless vengeance quest.

…If she waited until they got situated a bit and then just disappeared one day, they probably wouldn’t even notice she was gone, she thought. Right now they looked up to her because they were the sole YoRHa survivors, but surely that wouldn’t last.

Surely, they would realize soon that she wasn’t worth looking up to.

“Should we see if there’s anything we can help 9S with?” 2B asked, sensing a natural conclusion to their conversation.

“Sure.” When 2B withdrew her hand from A2’s arm as they stood, she found herself unexpectedly missing the contact.

Together, they made their way back to him. 9S was still concentrating intensely on reprogramming the machine core. Not only did he need to reprogram something incredibly complex, but he couldn’t make it a perfect match to the programming of his own. He needed to also ensure it worked with a Popola model.

They waited as he finished hacking it. Finally, he looked back at them, seeming satisfied. “I think this will work.”

If Devola had been awake, it was certain that she would be outraged at that. _“You **think?!** Make sure it’ll work!_” But this operation was beyond unprecedented, so there was no way to guarantee its success. Making an educated guess was the best that they could do.

She was performing the equivalent of open-heart surgery, and that made A2 uneasy, but she took a deep breath and got started. It brought back bad memories of prying her own chest open to remove the bomb installed in her, but she did her best to set those aside. With the help of Anemone and 9S, she set the Black Box up and connected it to Popola’s AI as best she could.

Once that was done, they repaired the rest of her body. That was the easy part here, really.

“Pod, are you able to interface with Popola? To reboot her?” 2B asked once A2 took a step back to do one more check of Popola’s body.

Pod 042 seemed to consider it. “Affirmative: interfacing with Popola unit appears to be possible. Beginning checks.”

“Wait,” A2 interjected. “After you do your checks, don’t wake her up yet. I’d like… to wake them up together, if all checks are green.” The last thing she wanted was for something to unexpectedly be wrong with Devola, beyond their ability to repair.

While A2 and Anemone worked on repairing Devola, 2B addressed 9S. “Why were you carrying around a machine core, anyway?”

Oh boy. 2B had already had enough bad news for one day, he decided. Telling her what happened to Pascal’s village… She should know, and would want to know, but maybe it would be good to give her a break first. Telling her ‘I went to Pascal’s village, everyone was dead except him, he had complete amnesia, and he sold me the core from a child machine’… he couldn’t even begin to guess what had come to pass. Perhaps Pascal’s data had been corrupted during the attack that had claimed the rest of the village…?

It couldn’t be said that they were exceptionally close to Pascal or any of the villagers, but even so, he was sure it would come as a shock for 2B. He didn’t want to give her anymore bad news for today. This could wait. “Just happened to have it around,” he shrugged. He could apologize later for misleading her.

Soon, both twins’ maintenance was complete. The pods performed checks, ensuring that they were ready to be rebooted…

If all checks were green, then they should be alright. Still, she felt nervous about what state Popola might be in upon waking. After all, they were now powering her through something that was never meant to interface with any type of AI. A2 addressed the pods, changing her mind from her earlier statement. “Let’s wake Popola first. I want to be certain there are no immediate side effects before we wake Devola.”

“Understood: Commencing reboot sequence.”

Popola remained still for a time. Then, slowly, she opened her eyes. “I’m… alive?” She looked around, gaze soon falling on Devola on the stretcher beside her.

Sensing what was about to happen, A2 put her hands on Popola’s shoulders. “Don’t move just yet. Devola is okay – she shut down, but only needed ordinary maintenance. She’ll probably reboot by herself soon if we don’t do it first.”

“That’s right… I… at the tower…” How was she alive? How was 2B alive, for that matter?

“Can you tell me, do you feel anything strange?”

She first moved her body, part by part, just enough to ascertain that it was all under her control. She didn’t have scanning capabilities, but she could check for any unexpected sensations. Unexpectedly, she actually did note one. “Something feels… like it’s stirring in my chest. Not just my circulatory system, but something different.”

The three YoRHa units exchanged looks. There was no doubt that it would have to be a result of the Black Box.

“Your circuits were damaged by the tower,” A2 said. “We had to find an alternate way of powering you, so we set you up with one of the devices that power YoRHa units.” After feeling so repulsed by the idea of a machine core inside of her, she wondered if putting one inside Popola was really the right call. But if Popola knew that the alternative would be for her sister to outlive her, probably the most painful possibility imaginable for either of them, A2 suspected she would have agreed to it if she could have been asked beforehand.

Anyway, a decision to give them another chance at life gave them an opportunity to say what they wanted. A decision to leave them for dead didn’t. If they were upset about it and asked to be killed, A2 wouldn’t be opposed to respecting their wishes.

But if they wanted a second chance at life, perhaps a happier one… she would grant them that, too, at least as much as she was able.

Popola seemed to think that over. “I’m glad it’s still compatible, since we’re such old models.”

“Yeah. Me too.” Explaining that it was reprogrammed in an attempt to be compatible, and that it was somewhat ‘alive’ and thus better able to adapt than some other technology, felt inconsequential. She was sure that Popola was eager for Devola to be rebooted. “Pod, commence reboot sequence for Devola.”

“Understood: Commencing reboot sequence.”

Popola carefully rose to her feet, sitting on the edge of Devola’s stretcher and holding her hand. She wanted her survival to be the first thing Devola became aware of, certain that Devola would have thought her unable to be saved.

When Devola opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the face of her twin. “Popola--?!” She bolted upright, pulling Popola into a tight hug.

Usually, it took a minute or so for androids’ memory data to catch up after being rebooted from such severe injuries, but it seemed special exception had somehow been made for Popola.

“Yeah. I’m here,” Popola assured her, hugging her back just as tightly. After living for ten thousand years, she hadn’t felt particularly sad at the possibility of her own demise. But her one regret had been leaving Devola alone.

“ _How?_ ” She was beyond grateful, and yet it seemed impossible to believe. There was no way that Popola could have just survived what happened at the tower, but who would save Popola and Devola models?

Popola pulled away to motion at the four who had worked together to save them.

She looked around at them, brow furrowed in confusion. 9S she could understand, since he technically could be seen as ‘owing’ them – not that most seemed to care about that when it came to their models – but Anemone had always been distant from them, probably instinctively repulsed by them just like most other androids, and they barely even knew A2. “2B? Glad to see you made it too.”

Maybe after 2B had come back, 9S had felt generous. Devola wasn’t sure. She didn’t really care why, either. She had thought she would eventually wake up alone, and instead Popola had been saved. She couldn’t bring herself to care about anything else right now.

9S stepped closer. “I heard about how you two were reprogrammed. If you’d like, I can disable the code… the one that creates the guilt.”

The twins looked at each other. It seemed they silently reached an agreement just through that, so in sync with each other. Devola shook her head. “I don’t want to let go of our guilt. It’s what keeps us from repeating our models’ past mistakes.”

It kept them from repeating those past mistakes? But it was literally impossible. He didn’t fully understand the details of the situation, but he had found enough archives to understand that the previous models’ mistakes regarded the extinction of humanity. Humanity was, as it turned out, long extinct, so… “But how would you repeat their mistakes? Project Gestalt ended 10,000 years ago, didn’t it?”

That point was hard to argue with. What Devola said was one of the justifications given to them for the programming, possibly to keep them from getting angry about it. As such, they were taught not to question it. But now that he had raised the question, it was hard to argue with.

“It’s also our way of atoning,” Popola explained.

“You’re atoning for something neither of you did? That happened before either of you were even created?”

“But it led to—” Looking around at the others, who she assumed didn’t know that humanity was extinct, Popola cut herself off. “Someone has to atone for what it led to.”

Anemone, A2, and 2B would really have liked to have some idea what in the world they were talking about. Yet, interrupting the conversation for their own curiosity didn’t feel right to any of them, so no one interjected.

9S shook his head. “Maybe there’s someone who should atone. But whoever it was, shouldn’t it be the ones directly responsible?”

The twins looked at each other again. Finally, Devola told Popola, “I don’t want you to feel guilty anymore. You never did anything wrong. Neither of us did. How long should we keep getting blamed for the old Devola and Popola models’ mistakes?”

Popola held Devola’s hand as she considered it. She didn’t want Devola to feel guilty anymore either. Reprogramming the two of them wouldn’t change the instinctive disdain that most other androids treated them with, but at least when it was just the two of them, they could feel at peace.

“Okay,” Popola said.

9S approached them, then looked at A2. “You can hack too, right? They’re older models, but we’re just looking for a piece of code to disable.”

“Since they have AI, won’t it be difficult to remove all the ripple effects of it throughout their learning?”

He considered that. “Yeah. We won’t be able to remove every single effect of it through hacking. But we can stop their programming from forcing them to generate more.”

Wouldn’t the two of them, due to their learning, just generate more from their own feelings and learning then? Then again, if it was created ‘organically’ in that way, perhaps that was different from having programming that literally forced it. “…Alright.”

“I’ll hack Popola and you hack Devola.” Secretly, he also wanted to check one more time that there were no negative impacts on Popola’s data from the installation of the Black Box. A2 was obviously created with some hacking ability, but her skills in it probably weren’t quite as advanced as a model who had been created _specifically_ for things like this.

The two of them began hacking. Since A2 was only finding the code and disabling it while 9S was also checking for any unexpected changes in Popola’s data, she was the first to finish. She looked quizzically at 9S before understanding dawned on her.

When he finished, A2 tilted her head in a silent question. If he hadn’t said anything, perhaps he thought one or both twins would be alarmed if he mentioned needing to check that there were no adverse impacts on her data, so she thought it might be better that she didn’t voice the matter either.

He gave A2 a thumbs up. There was no unexpected data, and the data that her system had created to interface with the Black Box didn’t seem to be interfering in any way with her previous data.

The first thing that Popola noticed when she felt 9S finish hacking was that she still felt guilty. Perhaps this was what A2 and 9S meant when they spoke of it impacting their AI. In some ways, that was a relief. It meant that if they _should_ feel guilty for something, they were still capable, but now… they had the potential to start to heal.

“Thank you,” Popola said, taking one of 9S’s hands and one of A2’s.

“…Don’t mention it,” A2 mumbled while at the same time, 9S chirped, “Of course!”

She directed her next words at A2. “And you know, if you ever do decide you want some maintenance, our offer still stands.”

“…No thanks.”

It seemed they were referencing a past conversation, 2B noted. Now that she thought about it, she had always just assumed that as a deserter, A2 didn’t have anyone willing to perform maintenance on her. If Popola and Devola were willing, why _didn’t_ she get repaired?

That, she decided, was a conversation for another day. There was already so much to be processed from today.

When Popola released their hands, 9S smiled at 2B. “Want to go home?”

‘Home.’ She nodded, deciding she liked the sound of that. Still, she looked at A2. “Would you like to come visit us for a while?”

That might not be so bad. “Sure.”


End file.
